They had not choice. Firework sales have been prohibited in Germany.
Thanks a million, COVID.
Germans flock to Poland to buy fireworks in defiance of ban – Firework sales prohibited in Germany for second year in a row owing to Covid, resulting in growing stockpile.
Have a Happy New Year!
That means riots. You know, like the “riot” taking place in the photo of this anti-Covid measure demonstration down there?
Germany Erupts in Protests Over COVID Mandates, Police Officers Injured in Riots – The protests come as the German government implemented new restrictions this month to deal with the Omicron variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than other variants.
Earlier in December, Germany announced limits on private gatherings that were to begin Tuesday. The restriction is intended to limit the number of people holding large gatherings on New Year’s Eve. A maximum of 10 vaccinated people are allowed to attend a private gathering. If someone who is unvaccinated attends, only one other household can go to the gathering.
German lawmakers have approved a law mandating that medical staff be vaccinated, according to the broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
“Now is not the time for parties in large groups.”
In Germany they do. Even if you shoot them off from your balcony, in your backyard or in front or your own front door, apparently.
That’s why they must be verboten this year. I mean next year. I mean, you know what I mean. Everything that is not expressly allowed must be verboten here. It’s the law or something. Of course the companies that make 90 percent of their annual sales on New Year feel that this planned ban might have a slight financial impact on their revenue, but still.
Planned ban on New Year fireworks ignites anger in Germany – Authorities set to prohibit big public displays that are traditional part of festivities.
“Wir finden, dass privates Feuerwerk vor der eigenen Haustür Corona-konformer gar nicht sein kann.”
Then they introduce a speed limit on your autobahn. “Whatever is not expressly permitted is strictly forbidden” in Germany.
Could Germany ban personal fireworks? – Across the world, fireworks are an essential part of New Year’s Eve celebrations. Germans especially love setting off their own pyrotechnics, but some places have now imposed limited bans — for good reason…
Germany’s laissez-faire approach to pyrotechnics, however, has serious consequences. Fireworks harm the environment, and exploding pyrotechnics can startle and shock animals as well as little children…
Alles was nicht ausdrücklich erlaubt ist, ist verboten.
Where they belong, I mean. Unverantwörtlich (irresponsible) of them, I find.
Several clearly intoxicated women ventured out of Berlin’s new “safety area” during New Year’s Eve celebrations last night and were promptly sexually assaulted by those for whom the safety area had originally been set up to protect. Or at least I assume that’s why the thing had been set up. This led to the arrest of several of these poor blameless victim types by undercover cops. Don’t these women ever think about the consequences of their actions?
In what kind of a dream world are you living in, girls? Safety areas are the latest craze in German cities and everybody knows the rules. If you don’t, go get informed already. Get with the plan and stop being a public nuisance.
Auch zwei Jahre nach den Silvester-Übergriffen in Köln ist die Angst vor sexueller Gewalt bei den Feierlichkeiten groß. Berlin richtet nun eine Schutzzone für Frauen ein. Auch andere Städte haben ihr Sicherheitskonzept angepasst.
Oh, they’ve contacted you already? Good. Whew.
Tradition can be a dangerous thing, folks. Just look at the old German New Year’s Eve custom of Bleigießen – telling fortunes by the shapes made when molten lead is dropped into cold water. Awful. As you can well imagine, countless millions have been maimed or died in the process. And did you know that they actually do this without proper supervision in the privacy of their own homes?
Thank goodness the EU is here to help. A new European Union directive has finally been enacted that prohibits this dangerous practice once and for all. Tonight will be the last time Germans will be allowed to recklessly place their lives and the lives of their children in danger.
This kind of stuff gets me right here. I really get emotional. Today the lead, tomorrow Santa Claus. The EU marches on.
Happy New Year!
Bye, bye, Blei: Im Zuge der neuen Chemikalienverordnung der EU müssen die Deutschen ab 2018 auf das Bleigießen an Silvester verzichten.
PS: Remember to be extra careful with those Polish firecrackers tonight, people.
That’s short for North African men.
And the police in Cologne “did good” on New Year’s Eve by aggressively questioning, detaining and expelling the roughly thousand (1000) North African men who came to Cologne’s central station to try to raise hell with German women again, just like they had done the previous year (Why are these multiple offenders still in Germany, you ask? Practically everybody else in Germany is asking themselves that same question these days, too.).
But the police in Cologne “did bad” by using the word Nafris, German Green women tell us. Because, well, that’s short for North African men.
Get it? Me, neither.
Am HBF werden derzeit mehrere Hundert Nafris überprüft. Infos folgen.
Happy New Year already.
Police in Leipzig found two fingers somebody had blown off last night that nobody had claimed yet so they called Sherlock Holmes for help, I assume. He must have suggested that they call the emergency medical service number because when they did they were able to locate a patient matching the description perfectly. Missing two fingers, that is.
Somebody in Duisburg blew off three fingers. I haven’t got the missing finger count here in Berlin yet but there were fourteen serious incidents so I’m betting on a least a dozen. The main thing is that everybody has a good time, I say.
Alkohol und Schwarzpulver – eine fatale Mischung für einen Mann, der am Hauptbahnhof gefeiert hatte.
Silvester (New Year’s Eve) preparations are in full swing here in Germany, folks. So for any of you who might be enjoying the New Year’s Eve celebrations here tomorrow please keep these German words in mind.
Böller are firecrackers, usually big honking firecrackers, that Germans love blowing up for hours and hours and hours and hours on end, preferably blowing off a finger or two in the process. This is an ancient Germanic tradition that goes back to the Roman era. In Germania, Tacitus tells us, the Germanen often flipped off Roman soldiers during New Year’s Eve celebrations but, being drunk, were easily captured and then got their Stinkefinger cut off as punishment. After the Romans left new ways of removing fingers had to be developed.
Pfannkuchen or Berliner Pfannkuchen or just Berliner are pancakes, eaten in massive amounts around midnight. This tradition goes back to the 1950s when a Berlin housewife messed up an American doughnut recipe by forgetting to add the hole and putting way too much jam filling inside instead.
Pfefferspray is pepper spray or mace and is a new tradition that began shortly after last year’s Silvester celebrations, introduced in Cologne by another Kulturkreis (cultural circle), origins unknown.
In Sicherheit feiern – Mit Pfefferspray durch die Silvesternacht?
Observing Hermann 